THE GROWTH OF COMPANY OWNED OPERATIONS IN GULF COAST GEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTING SINCE JULY 1930

Geophysics ◽  
1936 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 306-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. E. Rosaire ◽  
K. Ransone
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Torsion Balance ◽  
Steady Increase ◽  
Geophysical Prospecting ◽  
Saturation Point ◽  
Graphical Data

Graphical data are presented for the refraction seismograph, torsion balance, and reflection seismograph in the Gulf Coast over the period July 1930 to February 1936. For comparison, the variations in the price of 30° Baumé crude oil at Houston are presented for the same period. The results indicate that: (1) The refraction seismograph was discarded before the 1931 minimum in the price of oil. (2) During this 1931 minimum, exploration of any kind was practically non‐existent. (3) The 1933 minimum, on the contrary, seems to have effected contract operations more than company owned operations. (4) Company owned torsion balance operations seem to have reached a saturation point while contract torsion balance operations are rapidly decreasing from their 1934 peak. (5) Company owned reflection operations have shown a steady increase of ten crews per year while contract operations have shown a very irregular increase, averaging six crews per year, since 1932. (6) New contract reflection companies have appeared since 1930 at the rate of three per year. (7) The peak of contract reflection operations will probably be reached in 1937 or 1938, after which these operations will disappear in the same fashion as did the contract torsion balance operations.

Alaskan Transportation: An Overview of Some Aspects of Transporting Alaskan Crude Oil

1979 ◽  
Vol 16 (03) ◽  
pp. 211-224
Author(s):  
Stanley Factor ◽  
Sandra J. Grove
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
Oil Well ◽  
Paper Briefly ◽  
The North ◽  
Prudhoe Bay ◽  
Design Construction ◽  
Commercial Oil

The first commercial oil well in Alaska was drilled in 1901, but it was in 1968 that Alaska was thrust into prominence as an oil producer with the discovery of the Prudhoe Bay field, the largest oil field ever found in the United States. This paper briefly explores the transportation-related aspects of the design, construction, and operation of the pipeline and support facilities. The pipeline terminates at Port Valdez on Prince William Sound. It is from here that the second leg of the journey to the energy-hungry lower 48 states begins. A thoroughly modern and unique marine transportation system is being utilized to transport approximately 1.2 million barrels (191 000 m3) per day of Alaskan crude oil to West and Gulf Coast refineries. The Valdez Terminal, the pipeline, the North Slope supply, and vessel particulars and operations are discussed; in addition, environmental and legal problems are outlined.

HISTORY OF THE GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION OF THE CAMERON MEADOWS DOME, CAMERON PARISH, LOUISIANA

Geophysics ◽  
1945 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Glenn M. McGuckin
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Torsion Balance ◽  
Salt Dome ◽  
Geophysical Exploration ◽  
History Of

In order to demonstrate the growth of our knowledge of a typical Gulf Coast salt dome concurrently with development of the science of geophysics, the successive application of various techniques to the exploration of the Cameron Meadows dome is described and illustrated. These methods were: mechanical refraction seismograph (1926); torsion balance (1927); electrical refraction seismograph (1928–29); early correlation reflection seismograph (1929); dip reflection seismograph (1933); special salt profiling refraction seismograph (1942); continuous correlation reflection seismograph (1942); gravity meter (1943.)

National Strategic Crude Oil Storage in the Weeks Island Dome Salt Mine—Part I: Geotechnical Evaluation

1979 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-86
Author(s):  
M. A. Mahtab ◽  
D. W. Lamb ◽  
L. L. Van Sambeek ◽  
J. D. Gill
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Salt Mine ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
Oil Storage ◽  
Geotechnical Evaluation ◽  
Term Storage

This paper, the first in a series of two, presents the results of a geotechnical evaluation of the Weeks Island dome salt mine. The purpose of the evaluation was to confirm the suitability of the underground facility for the long-term storage of crude oil under the Federal Energy Administration’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve Program. The Weeks Island mine, currently operated by the Morton Salt Company, is located in a salt dome on the Gulf Coast south of New Iberia, Louisiana. The mine has two levels of workings, at depths of approximately 185 and 245 m (600 and 800 ft) with development by the room-and-pillar mining technique. Geologic features of interest within the mine include zones of vertical banding and folding, shear zones, and blowouts. Field testing indicated that the salt mass is, for all intents and purposes, impermeable. Brine and oil leaks and gas seeps were examined and thought to be localized phenomena that did not affect mine stability and should not affect crude oil containment. The 23-m- (75-ft-) high pillars are generally intact with minor to severe spalling, generally in older areas of the mine. The mine roof exhibits no signs of distress or failure. Based on the overall results of the geotechnical and rock mechanics evaluations, the existing salt mine facility at Weeks Island was certified as suitable for the long-term storage of crude oil.

Chevron's 78000-DWT Lightering Tankers

1990 ◽  
Vol 27 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
R. A. Ternus ◽  
M. R. Buetzow ◽  
E. D. Selle
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Crude Oil ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
High Capacity ◽  
Turnaround Time ◽  
Dramatic Improvement ◽  
The Past ◽  
The U.S

Chevron operates two refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast, both of which receive imported crude oil by tanker. Very large crude carriers (VLCC's) load this crude overseas and transport it to international waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Here it is transferred at sea to smaller lightering vessels by ship-to-ship transfer. The lightering vessels must be small enough to satisfy the channel and refinery dock dimensional constraints for draft, beam, and length. In 1988 Chevron took delivery of two new 78000-dwt tankers which replaced older conventional tankers that provided this lightering service in the past. These new ships incorporate many specialized features to increase capacity and reduce the turnaround time in this trade. Maneuverability is enhanced by use of a bow thruster, Schilling rudder, and controllable-pitch propeller. Cargo transfer operations are expedited with high-capacity submerged cargo pumps, a special lightering hose crane, and a highly automated cargo control system. These and other features will permit one of these vessels to deliver crude at a rate more than twice that which could be sustained by a conventional tanker. This paper describes these ships in detail and focuses on the special features that together permit this dramatic improvement in lightering performance.

The torsion balance as a tool for geophysical prospecting

Geophysics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 527-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive C. Speake ◽  
G. D. Hammond ◽  
C. Trenkel
Keyword(s):  
Mass Range ◽  
Torsion Balance ◽  
Gravity Gradient ◽  
Geophysical Prospecting ◽  
Balance Beam ◽  
Horizontal Gradients ◽  
Moving Platforms ◽  
Local Anomalies ◽  
Derivatives Of ◽  
Double Torsion

We discuss whether the torsion balance can again become a key tool for geophysical prospecting. We outline the acknowledged disadvantages of the Eötvös torsion balance and seek designs of a torsion balance beam that would enable the torsion balance to be used on moving platforms. A key result is that torsion balance beams designed to be insensitive to the curvature and horizontal gradients of the gravity field are insensitive to the angular motion of the platform about horizontal axes. We suggest that a double torsion balance using these balance beam designs could be used on moving platforms. We point out that second gradients of the gravitational field (third derivatives of the potential) can be determined with reasonable sensitivity with current technology. We describe double torsion balance schemes where the mass, range, and azimuth of localized mass anomalies could be estimated or where local anomalies could be rejected using information from the second gravity gradient.

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